Natural-gas futures, meanwhile, saw their highest close in almost a month following an increase in weekly U.S. supplies that was less than expected.

October crude oil
US:CLV3
added $1.18, or 1.1%, to settle at $105.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had lost 1.2% on Wednesday to finish below $104.

Reuters

Oil futures moves higher after China manufacturing data.

The contract traded at $103.69 a barrel in electronic trading just before HSBC said its preliminary August reading of manufacturing activity in China swung out of contraction. The China manufacturing PMI rebounded to a four-month high of 50.1, above the consensus expectation for a 48 reading, as reported by Dow Jones Newswires.

The August report may soften concerns about slowing growth in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. China is on track to surpass the U.S. as the world’s top oil importer over the next four years, according to a report from consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

After crude was weighed down Wednesday by the anticipation of the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes from the July meeting, and then by the central bank’s ‘hat-tip to impending tapering,’ the oil market’s focus has shifted to the latest data flow,” said Matt Smith, a commodity analyst at Schneider Electric, in a daily note.

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According to a Platts report issued Thursday, China’s apparent oil demand climbed by 6.6% to average 9.82 million barrels per day in July compared with a year earlier.

“A double Chinese demand surprise, of July apparent demand data being 6.6% above its year earlier level and HSBC’s closely tracked manufacturing indicator clambering out of ‘contracting’ territory, will put to rest, at least temporarily, the more extreme Chinese doomsayers,” said Matthew Parry, senior oil analyst at the International Energy Agency.

The euro-zone recovery also continued to gain momentum in August, with the region seeing its largest monthly increase in business activity for over two years. Data from Markit showed on Thursday that the preliminary composite purchasing managers’ index climbed to a 26-month high of 51.7 in August, up from 50.5 in July.

In the currencies market, the U.S. dollarDXY, +0.00%
advanced against most key rivals after the China figures, presenting a bit of a headwind for oil and other commodities as a stronger dollar tends to dull purchases of dollar-denominated resources by holders of other currencies.

October Brent crude
UK:LCOV3
climbed 9 cents, or 0.1%, to end at $109.90 a barrel. Brent on Wednesday fell 34 cents, or 0.3%, on ICE Futures.

Back on Nymex, September gasoline
US:RBU3
closed up nearly 3 cents, or 0.9%, at $2.965 a gallon while September heating oil slipped by less than a penny to $3.07 a gallon.

Helping provide a boost to gasoline futures, Reuters reported that the Motiva Enterprises refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, will have to shut down its main unit for months next year as it replaces a faulty pipe.

The EIA on Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected increase in natural-gas supplies of 57 billion cubic feet for the week ended Aug. 16. Analysts polled by Platts forecast a climb of between 67 billion cubic feet and 71 billion cubic feet.

The data were bullish relative to expectations, but the “match with the five-year average says ‘neutral,’” said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures.

September natural gas
US:NGU13
rose 8.5 cents, or 2.5%, to $3.545 per million British thermal units. It was trading around $3.50 before the data. Prices haven’t closed above $3.50 since July 26, according to FactSet data.

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